Furnace



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W. E. SELLECK.

FURNAGE. No. 462,804. Patented Nov. 10, 1891.

F i l l 1 9 l l l 4 IINTTEn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

IVILLIAM E. SELLECK, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

FURNACE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 462,804, dated November10, 1891.

Application filed February 18, 1890. Serial No. 3401395- (NO IDOS-l T0all wwnt t may concern:

Be it known that I, X/VILLTAM E. SELLECK, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residingin the city of Chicago, in the county of Cook and Stateof Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inFurnaces, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements'in furnaces designed for warminghouses in e'old Weather, and therefore necessarily having agrate-surface of such an extent that a necessarily large amount of fuelmust be used in order that a fire may be maintainedQeven in moderateweather, when only a small amount of heat is desirable, thus resultingin a needless Waste of fuel and frequently in discomfort.

The prime object of this invention is to enable the maintenance of firesof different sizes in the same furnace, whereby in moderate weather asmall fire may be maintained at its maximum capacity within the furnace,and thus avoid the maintenance of the ordinary large fire and theconsequent waste of fuel.

Another object of my invention is to enable the utilization of either apart or the whole of the combustion-chamber for the maintenance of'fires of different heating effects, whereby the iire used only in aportion of the combustion-cl1amber and producing the lowest desirabledegree of heat may be instantly utilized for heating the entirecombustionchamber and for igniting the fresh fuel supplied to the fire,and all this without in the meantime substantially or materiallyreducing the heat produced by the furnace, or at best the temperature ofthe apartments to be heated.

Further objects are the economizing of fuel and the reduction to thesimplest and cheapest possible form of construction a furnace capable ofproducing the desirable and important results hereinbefore set forth.These objects are attained by the devices hereinafter described andclaimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing', in which- Thegiiire represents a central vertical section of a furnace embodying myinvention.

Referring by letter to the said drawing, A indicates the ordinary outershell or casing of the furnace, between which and the combustion-chamberis formed the usual heatingchamber A', B, a fire-pot, having therein agrate C, supplied with fuel through the chute D, opening upon theoutside of the furnace, which grate has a surface of the usual ext-entfor a supply of fuel necessary to produce the maximum degree of heat.Above this firepot is the co mbustion-chamber of the furnace, which inthis case is contracted about the center of height thereof, practicallydividing the chamber into two parts E and F, one immediatel y above thetire-pot B and the other above the contracted portion of said chamber,in which latter is located a second and supplemental grate G, ofconsiderably less dimensions than the lower and main grate C, and forwhich the contracted portion of the combustion-chamber forms a fire-potof less dimensions than the fire-pot of the main grate, to which fuel issupplied through a chute Il, located in a plane above the chute D of thelower main fire-pot, the waste products of combustion from either orboth of the firepots being discharged from the combustionchamber througha flue I leadingto the usual chimney or smoke-stack.

Then the main grate C is in use, the entire combustion-chamber isemployed, the upper or supplemental grate G being preferably removed orturned to a vertical position, although if left in position it wouldoffer no material obstruction to the escape of the products ofcombustion; but when the grate G is in use, the lower portion E of thecombustionchamber and the lire-pot B are merely airiiues for the saidgrate. In other words, the upper supplemental grate uses only the upperportion F of the combustion-chamber, and the ashes therefrom willbedischarged through the lower fire-pot into the ash-pit J, in the samemanner as if the main lfire-pot were in use. The grate G is preferablyso hinged or constructed that it may be swung to a vertical position,leaving a substantially clear passage for the products of combustionfrom the lower portion of the combustion-chamber through the contractedand upper portion F of the combustion-chambcr to the Iiue I, or else beentirely removed therefrom when not in use. Now the advantages of havingtwo separate and distinct gra-tes of diifer- IOO ing area, andconsequently two iire-pots of different dimensions in the same furnace,are that in mild Weather, when a minimum degree of heat is required, oreven in cold weather when a uniform average degree of heat between amaximum and a minimum is desirable the smaller or supplemental fire-potmay be successfully used for this purpose, thereby not only promotingcomfort, but econoiny of fuel, and the furnace will require lessfrequent attendance, for obviously a lower degree of heat may beproduced in the heating-chamber by the use of a small fire-pot than bythe use of a larger fire-pot, and it is equally Well understood howrdiicuit it is, even with frequent attendance and great care, touniformly maintain in a furnace a degree of heat between its maximum andminimum, although no difiicultyis experienced in maintaining the maximumdegree though somewhat more is required to keep a minimum degree of heatwithout the lire dying out.

The merit of myinvention lies in the practicability of producing thelowest possible degree of heat in a furnace and also of maintaining in afurnace of large heating capacity a uniform degree of heat between itsminimum and its maximum heating capacity without the exercise of eitherskill or constant care. Important advantages also arise from my peculiarrelative arrangement of the two iire-pots-namely, that of having thesmaller fire-pot arranged above the larger one-for by this arrangement,when the smaller fire-potis in use and the temperature suddenly becomeslowered, requiring the use of the larger fire-pot, the fire of thesmaller pot may be quickly and conveniently dumped upon the lower grate,and in such a live condition that it will readily ignite the freshSupply of coal necessary or desirable for running the main and largertire-pot, While by the same manipulation the passage for the products ofcombustion from the lower portion of the combustion-chamber to thedischarge-due I is immediately cleared, and at the same time the uppergrateis cleaned for subsequent use. Furthermore, the embodiment of myinvention in a furnace does not substantially increase its cost, and,besides, any ordinary furnace having a combus- 4 tion-chamber ofsufficient height, may, at a very small cost, have secured therein asmaller grate, in which event the desired contraction of thecombustion-chamber may be made by an inclined annular flange supportingand extending from the grate to the walls of the combustion-chamber, orthe same result may be attained in numerous other Ways, which willreadily suggest themselves to one skilled in the art to which' myinvention appertains, and therefore need not be herein illustrated ordescribed in detail.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent,

A furnace composed of two tire-chambers arranged one above the other,connected by a contracted throat, both chambers being provided with agrate, the upper grate having less fuel capacity than and adapted todump its contents upon the lower grate and leave an open communicationbetween both of said fire-chambers, whereby a minimum fire maintained ina furnace may be converted into a large and maximum iire, and the upperfirechamber is simultaneouslymerged' into the combustion-chamber of thelarger fire-chamber, substantially as described.

XVILLIAM E. SELLECK. iVitnesses;

R. C. OMoHUNDRo, WV. R. OMOHUNDRO.

